Parkinson’s Disease – All You Need To Know

What happens to you when you are nervous – say for example, before an important job interview? Your hands tremble slightly, don’t they? It’s difficult to deal with it, as holding something, writing and even using your fingers to gesture becomes difficult, even embarrassing, at times.

If a few moments can make you feel uncomfortable, then imagine someone who has to constantly deal with tremors and trembling. That is the kind of life somebody with Parkinson’s Disease deals with.

Origins of Parkinson’s Disease

When you talk about a particular disease, most often you would want to know which part or which organ of your body is being affected. Like Arthritis affects your bones, heart attack affects your heart and blood vessels, each condition affects a particular part or organ of your body.

Parkinson’s Disease is a degenerative condition which progresses with time and affects your nervous system as a whole and ultimately affects your mobility or movement.

Parkinson’s disease gets worse with age and time. A symptom which might start as a tremor in your hand can eventually and gradually result in the slurring of your speech, memory loss and loss of movement.

Identifying The Triggers Of Parkinson’s

The primary cause of this condition is when the neurons or nerve cells gradually die after breaking down. Hence it is said to be a degenerative disease. The nerve cells or neurons in your brain produce a neurotransmitter called Dopamine. This neurotransmitter sends signals to various other neurons and this plays a major role in your behaviour.

When the nerve cells or neurons degenerate and die, the levels of dopamine in your body decrease to a great extent resulting in abnormal brain activity. This abnormality in your brain activity results in the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Now this is the scientific cause of Parkinson’s. How does this breaking down and death of neurons occur? It can be due to environmental and genetic factors.

Environmental Causes: Any kind of exposure to certain chemicals which are toxic in nature can trigger the symptoms found in Parkinson’s disease, however environmental causes play a relatively smaller role in this condition.

Genes: When it comes to genes, various mutations in your DNA can lead to Parkinson’s disease. However, it is rare unless and until there are a large number of people in your family have suffered or are suffering from this condition.

Do You Have Parkinson’s Disease?

The symptoms of this condition differs from person to person and for most cases, the early signs which occur, is not paid too much attention to as it seems normal at the time. Usually, symptoms occur on one side of your body and then shifts to the other however, the intensity of pain on that side is more.

The symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are:

Shaking or Tremors: The foremost symptoms which occur are the shaking of some parts of your body. It might start as a tremor in your hand or limb or even fingers. Tremors might even occur when your body is at rest.

Rigid Muscle: Stiffness of your muscles can occur in various parts of your body. It can cause extreme pain and also hamper your motion.

Loss of involuntary movements: Any kind of involuntary movements such as blinking, movement of arms when you walk and even smiling is lost as the condition progresses with time.

Speech and Writing Changes: Slurring, difficulty in writing, speaking softly are some of the symptoms which occur.

Slowed Movement: As the disease progresses, Parkinson’s disease can affect your movement to a great extent and limit it. Simple tasks, especially the ones you do daily might seem difficult.

So if you think you have any of these symptoms or likely to develop them due to hereditary reasons, visit us or book an appointment with us so that our doctors can help diagnose the condition and start an early treatment which is comparatively more effective.

Are You At Risk?

Age: Age is one of the major risk factors of this disease. It rarely happens, where young adults showcase signs of Parkinson’s. It is usually is seen in people who are of 60 years or older.

Sex: Compared to women, men are are at a higher risk of developing Parkinson’s.

Genetics: If you have a relative who has Parkinson’s, it is likely for you to develop the condition as well however unless there are many family members battling Parkinson’s, the risk is comparatively less.

Exposure to Harmful Chemicals: There have been a few cases, where exposure to various kinds of toxins, mainly pesticides and herbicides increases your chance to develop Parkinson’s disease.

Treating Parkinson’s Disease:

The disease of Parkinson’s does not have a cure but there are various treatments which help the patient lead a life with better quality by controlling the symptoms. Treatment can be done through medications, which if does not work then surgery is advised. Apart from that, there are various lifestyle changes and also therapy which can help improve your condition.

Medication:

Medications which are prescribed by the doctor will help you to manage the problems associated with Parkinson’s disease such as walking, movement and also controlling the tremors.

However, drugs and medication is not the permanent solution and the results of the drug might become less consistent however, you will still be able to control your symptoms.

Surgery:

A surgery is only advised if medication fails. A Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery is advised by the doctor. To know more on this type of surgery, visit us or book an appointment where our doctor can explain in detail the benefits of this surgery and also the risks involved.

Apart from these treatments, there are various lifestyle changes which might be suggested by your doctor and also therapy which will help you concentrate on the positives of life ultimately helping you lead a better life. However, visiting a doctor at the earliest increases your chances of controlling this disease.

About The Hospital

Medisys Hospitals is a growing super speciality hospital in Hyderabad that represents the vision and mission of a group of highly qualified and experienced veteran medical professionals. Started in June 2016, it is a 200-bedded hospital with all medical and surgical specialities available. We rely on our in-house state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities to provide high level care for our patients.

Vara Lakshmi

Shravan Kumar

Welcome to medisys

Welcome to Medisys Hospitals, a growing super speciality hospital in Hyderabad that represents the vision and mission of a group of highly qualified and experienced veteran medical professionals. Started in June 2016, Medisys is a 200-bedded full-fledged medical facility with all medical and surgical speciality services available.